Overview
Introduction
CEOs seek ghSMART’s advice for their most high-stake leadership challenges. And often, ghSMART’s clients see them as the most influential professional relationships they have. Those who aspire to be a trusted advisor to CEOs, Boards and Investors of the world and are equipped with experience at one of the big three strategy firms or a PhD in Psychology should take a closer look at ghSMART.
Company Stats
Employer Type
Size
Featured Rankings
Major Departments/Practice Areas
Major Office Locations
Employment Contact
Vault Verdict
If you want to know what happy consultants sound like, look no further than the comments from ghSMART insiders. And no wonder: the firm is enjoying a huge boom in demand for its services while providing an approach to work-life balance that can only be described as idyllic—ghSMART consultants essentially set their own schedules and client engagements, and have the freedom to live and work from almost anywhere.
Comprised mainly of the cream of the crop from the likes of Bain and McKinsey, this is a firm that values expertise—and is willing to pay for it as well. While quality of life is the undoubted watchword—and a major reason that many of the firm’s employees opted to leave their previous firms--ghSMART operates a “work more, earn more” policy that allows those...
About the Company
ghSMART Founder Dr. Geoff Smart’s Psychology PhD dissertation found that those private equity firms best at choosing teams made the most money. Equipped with an expertise in human behavior, he and his early colleagues went on to advise private equity investors to accelerate (or de-risk) value creation by selecting and developing their portfolios’ leadership teams. Today, ghSMART is still a trusted advisor to large private equity investors, as well as, to CEOs and Boards of F500s and non-profits. ghSMART consultants are each charged with helping their ‘top of the house’ clients achieve their business goals and personal aspirations, build the most effective teams and align a purposeful organization.
A Double Helix
ghSMART’s more than fifty consultants help their c-level clients solve the...
Employee Reviews
- “Be part of delivering amazing client impact while building an amazing firm (great colleagues, flexibility, etc.).”
- “Freedom and flexibility culture with incredible colleagues and world class client impact.”
- “I positively impacted C-Suite leaders by helping them solve their toughest leadership problems, while still focusing on being a great husband and dad.”
- “It sounds like the same thing everyone says, but we really do have the best people in the industry, selecting the best MBAs from McKinsey, Bain and BCG as well as deeply experienced business-focused psychologists. Our people are not only super smart, but also humble, curious, giving and driven to support our clients' agendas.”
- “Unparalleled exposure to senior executives on high impact and interesting work while working less and earning more than at other prestigious firms.”
Why Work Here
We are the world’s most effective leadership advisors. Masters of the art of advising and the science of leadership intelligence.
For over two decades, we’re helped CEOs, boards, and investors see the patterns others miss. Our dual mastery of strategy and human behavior, combined with a rigorous process and database of over 23,000 assessments, allows us an unmatched perspective into a business. We help leaders from Fortune 500 companies, leading investment management firms, and the largest private equity firms reveal new paths forward, new opportunities, and new ways to lift up the people they lead.
Getting Hired Here
- “As a leadership assessment firm, ghSMART practices what it preaches with respect to its own hiring methods. Each candidate is assessed via the firm's SmartAssessment process, an in-depth, ~4 hour life and career walkthrough, after which they are assessed relative to the role's scorecard. As a result, many of the consulting team are top performers from top strategy firms in the past, bringing strong intellectual curiosity and abilities, a passion for serving others, and tremendous emotional intelligence.”
- “In my career, ghSMART has had the most gold-plated approach in terms of how they treat their candidates through the recruiting process. Even if I had not received an offer, I would think positively about the firm, the culture, and the people.”
- “We conduct an initial introductory call to explain what we do and explore interest, followed by a phone screen and a case study. If the candidate passes and wants to continue, we conduct a SmartAssessent which is where we walk through their career in depth using the 5 questions above. If they pass that and want to continue, we conduct reference calls and a background check, and give them a chance to talk to about five to eight members of our team, including our president and Chairman.”
- “We have an extensive process that is based on the same methodology we use with our client assessment work, so anyone who we hire has already been through and experienced the approach they will be putting to work in their client engagements. We are very selective, and take our time, ensuring we get the right people. This can mean the process takes a while, but results in very few mis-hires.”
